And the Winner Should Have Been...: Recent Episodes
Bob and Mark
Trying something new again this episode; Bob and Mark discuss some soundtracks. What kind of musical expertise and knowledge do they bring to the topic? Almost nothing. Is it a list of their favorites? Not necessarily. You might like it anyway. Fewer spoilers than usual, though we disdain caution around such things as always.
00:00 Intro and disclaimer
03:57 First soundtrack
In the Mood for Love (soundtrack)
11:25 Source for theme
Yumeji
16:39 Second soundtrack
Perfect Days (soundtrack)
21:34 The word Bob is failing to remember is "komorebi"
24:51 Third soundtrack
A Clockwork Orange (soundtrack)
25:11 It's been a couple years since we talked about this film
Kubrick/Hitchcock episode
31:50 The greatest piece of music ever written (in Bob's opinion)
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, 4th Movement (This is not the best rendition of it, but it's okay. ~ Bob)
33:26 Music that didn't make the soundtrack
Wendy Carlos additional music (It was at this point in the edit that Bob discovered that Wendy Carlos was born Walter Carlos. Thus the original album title in the link.)
37:20 Fourth soundtrack
Sparrow (soundtrack)
41:00 Clip from the film
Stairs
42:11 Region B disc
Aussie Blu-Ray
44:18 Winding down and wrapping up
44:58 Film scores
Every Frame a Painting
This time around Bob and Mark lean right into the pretentiousness and discuss the French cinema they enjoy. (For the title we decided to go for the middle choice of "films;" seems midway between "cinema" and "movies.") We do less spoiling than usual, but you should still beware. The dreaded SPOILER may rear its head at any moment in our podcast.
00:00 Intro
03:45 Le Samourai
07:01 Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai
11:26 Disorder (Maryland)
18:39 Au Revoir, Les Enfants
24:28 My Dinner With Andre
26:59 Three Colors: White
33:41 L'Argent
39:04 Wasabi
43:15 Le Cercle Rouge
46:50 Army of Shadows
51:43 Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot
55:21 Odds and Ends
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), The Count of Monte Cristo (2024), Gankutsuou, The Count of Monte Cristo(Depardieu), Amélie, The Red Turtle, A Prophet
1:02:12 Wrapping up
This episode we catch up to 1985 and evaluate the 5 films from 1984 nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. It's been a while since the last episode, but to make up for it, it's a bit longer than usual? Anyway, this will be the last decade in series that we look at for now since we've already done an episode on the Best Picture nominees from 1995, 2005, and 2015. As always, beware of the fearsome spoiler that lurks throughout, and enjoy!
00:00 Introduction
04:27 A Soldier's Story
18:25 Places in the Heart
27:40 A Passage to India
45:39 The Killing Fields
54:26 Interlude about ranking nominees by vote totals (Bob was right in his gut reaction: voting results are not made publicly available)
55:51 Amadeus
01:09:45 Films from this year featured in other episodes of our podcast:Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Star Trek III, The Terminator, Dune, Blood Simple
01:14:40 Random odds and ends to conclude
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
So...there were some challenges with this one. We do apologize for the slow release pace, but in this case the audio required a lot of work to tune up. We're talking Best Picture for the 47th Academy Awards (films from 1974). SPOILERS abound, as always.
00:00 Intro
00:57 A good year?
03:21 The Conversation
12:25 Gene Hackman interlude
13:35 (Yes, yes; we were thinking of A Few Good Men)
18:14 The Godfather Part II
34:53 Chinatown
48:53 Lenny
55:07 The Towering Inferno
1:02:34 Digression about film rights and availability of old films
1:08:00 Quick review of other notable films from 1974
1:12:40 Our picks for Best Picture
1:14:13 (We are moving ahead a decade)
It's been a little while, but we've jumped another 10 years closer to the present with an episode on the best films of 1964. Unfortunately for filmgoers it was a bit of a fallow year, but it does make for some good conversation. We mostly talk about the 5 Best Picture nominees, but a few more films come in for a mention in passing.
As ever, we SPOIL the endings, middles...everything really about these movies without regard for what you might not have seen, so be warned. Watch the films first if you don't want to know how they end.
00:10 Intro to the podcast/topic
00:56 (Absolutely we did not get caught up to the current year)
03:34 Mary Poppins
18:03 Becket
29:55 My Fair Lady
31:12 Bob remembers correctly about Shaw and the Greek origin!
38:15 The superior original ending
43:53 Dr. Strangelove
45:51 The prior episode where we talked about Dr. Strangelove
46:25 Bob might be misremembering Hayden's late-life problems
52:00 Zorba the Greek
57:21 Bob gets on his high horse a bit
01:01:57 Picking our winner
01:05:18 Next episode plans and conclusion
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Bob finally gets busy and edits this episode wrapping up the past calendar year. It's a bit out of date, but then most of the episodes are too since we're almost always looking at films from years earlier. Not too many spoilers this time round, but be wary; one never knows when they may strike!
00:10 Intro
04:53 Favorites watched for the podcast
07:27 Movies from 2024
17:53 Bob and Indian cinema
20:25 Rowdy. Rowdy Rathore. (trailer)
21:57 How Bob sees films; film volume
25:09 First time watches not from 2024
34:48 Bob and Mark argue a bit about Free Solo
39:58 It's over!
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
00:10 Intro
02:04 The White Parade, copyright, and availability
09:02 Which ones did we watch?
10:45 It Happened One Night
11:53 It was the Valentine's Day episode about rom-coms in 2022
15:10 Bob's a little off; Miami was 110,000 in 1930, up from less than 30,000 in 1920
20:05 Bob did! See above.
20:57 The end of the Pre-Code era
23:23 Cleopatra
28:13 Imitation of Life
33:18 Flirtation Walk
38:05 The Gay Divorcee
45:06 The Thin Man
49:25 Drunks on film
53:37 Of Human Bondage
59:06 And the Winner Should Have Been...
01:03:45 Upcoming episodes
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This week we talk about the films of Ralph Fiennes. We haven't seen all his movies, but we have seen a goodly number. If you're afraid of the sneaky and nefarious SPOILER, you probably ought to be cautious since we fear it not.
00:10 Intro and the topic
02:40 Fiennes and the theater (theatre?)
06:11 Bob attempts to categorize Fiennes' films
07:05 Bob's very wrong about Macbeth being on streaming
08:00 The bulk of Fiennes' movies
13:37 Fiennes as villain
16:03 The Avengers (1998) Bob will be wrong a few seconds later about Fiennes being the villain (it's Sean Connery); not only that, Fiennes plays the hero, which would have been a good thing to have looked up before having the rest of this conversation. Do your homework, kids!
16:51 Our discussion of The English Patient
19:18 "Never" the hero? Didn't you guys just say he was the hero of The King's Man? Tells you how forgettable that film was.
20:13 Fiennes is an actor not a star?
26:31 Work in children's films
31:46 Odds and ends
37:19 Getting off topic and talking about physical media
43:27 Favorite Ralph Fiennes film
47:25 Digression about commentaries, food, other nonsense
51:24 Least favorite Ralph Fiennes film
54:51 Winding down; upcoming episode
56:45 Quick mention of two upcoming films
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Bob jumps straight into the topic this episode with SPOILERS from the very start. This episode we assume that you have at least a familiarity with the basic plot of the Terminator films even if, like Mark, you've never seen them. We discuss the first three films and ignore the latter three (which neither Bob nor Mark has seen). Enjoy!
00:10 Intro
00:45 Mark had not seen The Terminator; cultural significance and Schwarzenegger
05:37 Evolution from conclusive to open-ended
08:42 The Terminator
12:30 Does James Cameron care more about technical filmmaking than the story elements?
20:04 Masking the antagonist in Terminator 2
23:10 Linda Hamilton/Sarah Connor
25:41 Which is best and supporting cast
27:43 Terminator 3 is a real step down
31:12 Schwarzenegger is inextricably linked with the Terminator
34:05 Rough story moments in the second filmmaking
35:21 Edward Furlong - American History X
36:25 Robert Patrick
37:10 Kristanna Loken
40:25 Time travel and its problems
44:07 Special effects
48:35 Mild spoilers(?) for Reacher season 2
49:27 Prosthetic effects in The Terminator
52:08 Actor miscellany
56:35 Winding down
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
We return triumphantly with...a filler episode! Okay, they can't all be about timeless classics. This episode we look back at what we've seen so far and what is on the horizon. Mostly it's not great, but there were a few gems and several films which augur well. Minimal spoilers too! Enjoy!
00:17 Intro (and the brief return of the clicky pen!)
04:32 Bob's Top 5 of 2024 (so far)
08:32 Mark's movie-going (or lack thereof)
11:34 Bob raves about Perfect Days
13:58 What should movies be about? Are we jaded?
19:40 So many sequels/remakes on the horizon
23:57 The War of the Rohirrim
24:58 Writers strike and streaming
28:23 Movies we're looking forward to
31:38 Movies we aren't looking forward to
32:58 Back to The War of the Rohirrim
35:35 Upcoming release dates
42:14 Ralph Fiennes
44:00 Terminator(s)
45:49 Wrapping up
00:00 Intro
04:54 Starting the topic
06:55 What's the key understanding?
12:10 A role departure for Denzel Washington
15:57 Mark's choice for a unique Washington role
22:20 Another, similar, actor
23:52 It's not necessarily bad...
26:10 Glory
29:02 Comparing to Tom Cruise
31:51 Man on Fire vs The Equalizer
36:02 (It was from Sicario. -Ed.)
36:29 Noble self-sacrifice
39:42 Roman J. Israel, Esq.
41:40 Inside Man
43:00 Training Day
43:22 Mojo Jojo?
45:45 Wrapping up? No, of course not quite yet.
47:39 Much Ado About Nothing
50:05 Unstoppable
51:27 Two Guns
53:44 Manchurian Candidate(s)
55:40 Wrapping up for reals this time
Back this episode to talk about Jane Austen adaptations. There are many, but we only have time to watch and discuss a handful. At first Bob and Mark seem to be on the same page, but by the end...well, you'll hear. As ever, SPOILERS, but really, these stories are 200 years old. If you don't know them already, that's on you.
00:10 Introduction
2:28 Austen adaptations
7:25 Pride and Prejudice (1995 and 2005)
14:30 Bob compares it to Ozu, because of course he does, and we discuss the stories as a group
20:58 Persuasion(1995)
25:11 Social conventions
33:31 Emma (1996 and 2020)
40:29 Sense and Sensibility (1995)
47:30 Bob and Mark disagree vehemently on the relative quality of the films, then Sense and Sensibility specifically
51:47 Mark finds watching a group of similar movies back to back diminishes his enjoyment
52:36 The perils of watching a lot of movies
56:30 Wrapping up
58:31 Baseball!
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This time it's the back half of a pair of episodes on Kurosawa. As ever, we're talking about the films with the assumption that you'll have seen them, so beware the fearsome SPOILER. Mark picked the movies for Part I and Bob has picked the films for Part II. We also talk a little about Shane and A Fistful of Dollars. Enjoy!
00:10 Intro to Part 2
07:37 Yojimbo
10:36 A Fistful of Dollars
11:12 Accounts vary about exactly how much Kurosawa received, but he did win his lawsuit
14:41 "Gamblers" as code for "criminal"
16:14 Toshiro Mifune
18:05 Social commentary?
21:01 Spoilers for Shane
22:11 Seven Samurai vs Yojimbo
25:35 The shameless cribbing of Sergio Leone
27:10 Not knowing the history
28:12 High and Low
32:07 The second half is a second movie
33:55 Mifune and Nakadai
36:01 The villain
43:14 Takashi Shimura
43:46 Kagemusha
46:34 Solid casting/makeup
47:41 The accuracy/truthfulness of the story
49:57 Surrealism; possession?
55:21 Similar endings for Ran and Kagemusha
55:52 Mark argues that Ran surpasses Kagemusha as the sun outshines the moon
57:30 The Coppola (and Lucas) interview
59:13 The moment it all goes wrong
1:02:30 Cavalry vs firearms true to the real battle
1:03:40 Picking a favorite from across both episodes
1:05:42 High and Low remake?
1:08:20 The next episode topic
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
First of a pair of episodes about the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Mark is dipping into his ouevre for the first time and Bob is revisiting many of his favorite movies. Featuring SPOILERS throughout, but also the return of the clicky pen! Listen at your own risk.
00:10 Episode introduction
04:08 Seven Samurai
19:50 Wrong, Bob; three left
20:10 Wrong again; 4 of 7
20:34 (Seems to be an audio error in the original recording dropping a fraction of a second...)
25:14 The ending of Seven Samurai being more cynical than the ending of The Magnificent Seven
26:20 Bob realizes his mistake from 6 1/2 minutes earlier
27:41 Ran
39:20 Kurosawa's diminishing eyesight
42:08 Tatsuya Nakadai
44:36 Ran makes Mark's top ten films
45:22 Ikiru
48:44 Spoiler for the final moments of Ikiru
57:25 Bob rants about human nature for a while
1:01:50 Wrapping up
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This is as close as we get to jumping on the bandwagon of popular, recent films. We talk most about the Villeneuve Dune movies, but we also touch on the other iterations. No spoiler warnings in the episode, because the whole podcast is composed of SPOILERS!
00:10 Intro - What's going to be covered and not
04:50 There is no such thing as "spoiling" a 70 year old story; no spoiler warnings this podcast
06:05 Dune, the novel
13:35 The story from the novel changes in the transition to film
15:55 Jodorowsky's attempted adaptation
22:44 Dune (1984) (which we praise with faint damns)
32:55 Television vs. Movies for adapting books to screen
33:56 Dune miniseries (2000 and 2003)
36:30 Dune Parts I and II
37:42 Bob's rant
38:00 Mark thinks II is significantly better than I
39:35 Bob doesn't think II is better than I
45:00 The secret goals of the Bene Gesserit
46:32 Zendaya/Chalamet and Chani/Paul
52:10 Chalamet too young? Too small?
55:28 We agree Bardem was excellent; Mark is wrong about Walken not being great
58:52 Zimmer and the music
01:03:46 Sandwalking and the Rohirrim
01:04:37 Mark wants the final battle to be longer; Bob disagrees (and gets in a gratuitous swipe at John Wick 4)
01:07:05 (The Death Star battle lasts just under 11:30)
01:08:13 Why do the Fremen jaunt off into space?
01:12:10 Third film coming?
01:12:53 Dune II is overrated
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Bob finally stopped being lazy and got this edited. Wrapping up our discussion of the Coens and their films along with theme Mark thinks he's sussed out of their movies. As ever, SPOILERS!
02:00 Why are we doing two episodes on the Coens?
04:15 Blood Simple
10:15 Spoilers begin in earnest
16:49 Subscribers only (unfortunately): https://www.criterionchannel.com/videos/bill-hader-on-blood-simple
21:17 The Big Lebowski
23:59 Raymond Chandler
33:50 Mark's thesis
35:02 Inside Llewyn Davis
42:24 Comparing O Brother Where Art Thou?
50:01 True Grit
53:38 Law and justice
54:39 Couldn't find it
1:05:10 Summing up
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Another two part episode (at least two; we haven't recorded any more than this so far) this time around, but looking at a selection of Coen Brothers movies chosen by Mark. We discuss four of their films in this episode and plan to discuss four more. SPOILERS THROUGHOUT!Enjoy!
00:43 Mark's flu podcast
01:46 Introducing the topic
04:10 Raising Arizona (SPOILERS BEGIN)
20:55 M. Emmett WALSH (Bob apparently has football on the brain, he'll make the mistake again later too)
24:26 Miller's Crossing
42:48 Fargo
45:50 Mark "surfaces" the theme he has in mind that runs through Coen films
52:49 No Country for Old Men
1:09:04 Wrapping up
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
First episode of the new year is...finishing the topic we started at the end of last year. We're thinking about maybe tackling some smaller topics this year, but the best laid plans, etc. As ever with our podcast SPOILERS ABOUND! Listen at your own risk.
00:10 Intro
04:42 The Artist
10:18 Would it work as a true silent movie?
12:55 Mark doesn't like the title character
16:32 Bob loves this movie
27:24 The Descendants
29:15 Connection to Sideways
30:57 George Clooney
32:29 The Artist vs The Descendants
40:21 The Help
46:03 A realistic range of people
49:58 The Tree of Life
53:37 Dinosaurs?!
56:42 War Horse
58:51 The Black Stallion, redux
1:02:20 What else could have been nominated? (Drive!)
1:06:35 Wrapping up
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This time around we decided that since the 2012 Best Picture had 9 nominations, we'd split the discussion into two parts so we didn't have to either run very long or skim over films without discussing them. So 4 this episode, 5 next time.
00:10 Intro and beard discussion
03:47 Podcast topic - 2012 Best Picture
06:05 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
08:25 SPOILERS BEGIN!
18:58 Hugo
31:10 Midnight in Paris
39:26 "Bougie" interlude
40:39 Back to the film
42:10 Owen Wilson, wow!
42:47 Moneyball
45:16 The big game
58:56 Final thoughts and summing up
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Another movie that's (loosely) connected to the story of Jesus. We didn't plan it that way, but there it is. The other four films all have some connection to World War II, which at the time was still fresh in the mind for many people. We do have SPOILERS, but not so many as in other episodes? Listen at your own risk; as always we tend to talk about the films with the assumption that our listeners have seen them.
00:10 Intro
1:24 Monty Python boys
3:31 Old films, color vs black and white film
9:59 Ben-Hur
21:49 The fad for sword and sandal epics
24:20 Anatomy of a Murder
30:26 Stewart vs Heston
34:07 Room at the Top
37:11 SPOILERS for Room at the Top
38:40 Why is it so unpleasant?
42:27 The Diary of Anne Frank
55:21 The Nun's Story
1:06:12 Summing up
1:09:18 We start to ramble a bit before wrapping up
1:11:51 Bob is trying to think of El Dorado with John Wayne, James Caan, and Robert Mitchum
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Wrapping up the Indiana Jones trilogy this time around. Hope you enjoy it, SPOILERS, of course! We're not going to talk about the latter two films; at least, not for the foreseeable future. Never say never, though!
0:10 Opening salutations
1:13 "The jewel of Southeast Asia"
4:45 Synopsis
8:50 Is Indy actually searching for the Holy Grail?
12:51 Comparing the three films: villains
19:06 Donovan vs Belloq
20:55 How does the Grail actually work?
27:53 Nit-picking minor gripes
29:46 Schoolboy adventure physics again
34:21 Stretching the plot to have the adventure last longer
36:21 Fourth wall break
38:09 Stepping up the action, excellent stunts
42:37 Less like a serial than Raiders, but more like a serial than Temple of Doom
44:56 Comparing the three films: the cast
47:53 More Star Wars connections!
50:01 Ranking the trilogy
54:23 Watching them in order isn't really necessary
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Installment number two in our evaluation of the Indiana Jones franchise. (Ugh, it feels a little dirty saying "franchise.") We'll at least get the the third, but no promises about anything further. Very, very mild spoilers for The Sixth Sense (trailer level), and of course SPOILERS! for Temple of Doom. Enjoy!
00:10 Episode 50!
03:05 Thinking about Temple of Doom differently after watching it this time
05:00 The Sixth Sense (very mild) spoilers
05:35 End of The Sixth Sense spoilers
09:11 Deliberately low continuity between Raiders and Temple
09:42 The time gap between the films within the stories (which Bob gets wrong; it's Temple-1936, Raiders-1937, Last Crusade-1938)
11:48 Plot summary
14:23 Should Indy have been trading the emperor for the diamond?
17:29 Temple of Doom more action than adventure
18:46 The absence of Kasdan
21:20 What were the big differences between the first two films?
27:05 The difference between the objects sought
30:47 Rushed production?
32:37 Do sequels usually surpass or fall short of the original?
36:10 The "banquet"? First the raft!
43:06 The bugs!
44:01 Amrish Puri and other positives
46:33 Ke Huy Quan as Short Round
52:31 Child slavery as a plot element
53:45 Deus ex machina ending?
55:17 Who's that big guard?
57:26 Dan Akroyd and... Casablanca... and James Bond?
58:39 Wrapping up
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Still taking our sweet time in this sleepy summer, we return with a (relatively) in-depth look at a single film. Obviously, spoilers, but c'mon. If you've not seen this, then I don't even feel sorry for you being spoiled. It's your own fault for avoiding such a good movie for this long.
00:10 Intro
1:27 Recapping the lost first attempt
3:07 The deliberate homage to serial films
6:08 An Alfred Molina discursion
7:18 The good stuff
12:24 Museum nostalgia
14:36 Film as icon; sequels
17:20 Moichandising!
21:16 Casting...Alfred Molina!
28:36 Playing the heavy
30:55 Recycled sound effects
31:25 More movie connections
35:02 The implausibilities increase
38:06 Keeping it light
40:31 Influencing other movies
44:20 Denholm Eliot in brief
45:35 Summing up
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
It's been a bit slower because...it's summer. Yeah, that's it. Summer, that's the ticket. But we're back again with another episode, this time talking about 1944 and Bing Crosby's big year winning Best Actor in the Best Picture, Going My Way. Talking about it and the other Best Picture nominees we discuss MANY SPOILERS! You have been warned.
00:00 Intro - Heat and the 4th
05:38 Going My Way
20:25 Double Indemnity
31:16 Gaslight
40:52 Wilson
47:35 Since You Went Away
56:54 Other films in 1944
1:01:31 And the winner should have been...
1:03:49 Conclusion
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Slowly getting back into the swing of things; we're back with another timely episode talking about movies from nearly 70 years ago. It's almost silly, but SPOILER WARNING! We're going to spoil them all, insofar as that's possible, since some of them really aren't traditionally spoil...able? Enjoy!
00:10 Intro and desultory chit-chat
02:45 The nominees
04:05 They're how long?!
04:41 Around the World in 80 Days
10:43 Palin's Around the World in 80 Days
14:32 The cameos!
17:47 Could it have been shorter?
19:18 Giant
21:26 Race relations in Giant
24:55 Muddled character motivations for Jet
28:01 Escalates, but without resolution
31:13 The King and I
35:41 Anna and the King
38:49 Friendly Persuasion
44:31 The Hays Code and Gary Cooper
47:10 The Ten Commandments
52:42 Story variances and a different acting style
56:03 "Old" movies
58:55 What does Bob complain about this time?
1:04:30 Best Picture choices
1:05:57 Non-nominees worth mentioning
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
The year is 1997. The category is Best Picture. Who will win? Well, as is unsurprising at this period in history, it's the film pushed by the Weinsteins. But perhaps it ought not to have? We discuss the movies from 1996 that might should have been considered the Best Picture when the awards season rolled around in the first part of 1997. SPOILERS AHOY!
No timestamps because Bob was in a hurry, but if you're a regular listener you have the advantage of knowing which movie Bob chose for his personal Best Picture.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Oh, hey, it's an old episode that Bob forgot to edit and upload. Let's draw a veil on that and we can pretend that it didn't quite happen that way. Spoilers abound for a variety of films old and new in this episode where your two hosts run down lists of movies they dislike, but with which the world seems to be enamored. In addition to the movies on our lists, we also spoil (a little) La La Land and Rogue One.
Spoilers, spoilers everywhere!
00:00 Wait, what?
02:15 How did we choose (bad but popular) movies to discuss?
05:39 Mark's first movie he dislikes
12:55 Bob's first movie he dislikes
19:17 Mark's second movie he dislikes
22:42 Bob's second movie he dislikes
25:25 Mark questions whether Bob is merely a contrarian
31:28 Mark's third (and fourth) movie he dislikes
39:13 Bob's third movie he dislikes
43:50 Mark's fifth movie he dislikes
49:45 Bob's fourth movie he dislikes
58:28 Honorable mentions
1:00:58 Narrator: "They did not, in fact, talk about the Oscars next time."
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
It's a bit late (Bob's fault), but we're working to at least stay close to our intended schedule. This episode we talk about The Whale and clearly our conversation predated the Oscar awards (a bit interesting to hear our predictions after the fact). As always SPOILERS ABOUND! (We even spoil The Wrestler.)
00:10 Dudes chatting
01:45 The Whale
02:59 Plot synopsis
06:00 Aronofsky's interest in individuals in forms of isolation
08:43 The movie is not about justifying characters or them overcoming problems
10:22 Honesty and/or authenticity
12:33 Spoilers begin in earnest!
14:48 I Told Me So - Gregg Ten Elshof
18:22 Liz as enabler/codependent
20:32 Other characters - daughter Ellie
25:50 Charlie chose this life
28:27 Sometimes authenticity is bad, actually
32:44 The missionary
37:00 Brief spoilers of The Wrestler - skip to 37:31 to avoid
39:39 What's the deal with the title?
44:09 What do we think in sum about this film?
48:53 Oscar noms and chances
50:52 Authenticity in acting?
57:13 Actually, Letterboxd doesn't do this, at least not free accounts
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Keeping it rolling with a single Oscar nominated film. This week is Tár, a film about an orchestra conductor that changes jobs. It's worth seeing, though it's definitely a movie for people who really get into movies. Next episode The Whale!
We're sorry we missed an episode, but this is how it goes at this price point.
00:10 Intro and idle chatter
02:34 Chinese food in Vancouver
03:37 No one sees the teapot
04:23 Tár plot summary and what is the movie about?
11:01 SPOILERS BEGIN!
12:35 Is the movie arguing against "cancel culture"?
17:45 At what point do we begin to witness Tár's downfall?
22:10 How long has Tár acted in this way before it falls apart?
25:01 Has Tár lost interest in the music for the music's sake?
28:20 Tár's relationships
30:51 Bob theorizes about symbolic meaning off the cuff (and is less pleased with the idea listening to it while editing)
32:58 The importance of time; manifestations of madness
37:37 Exile
39:50 Bob meant to say "South Africa" when talking about Justine Sacco
42:49 Apocalypse Now reference and consequences
43:55 Profumo Affair
45:13 Mark thinks the child is... weird? And could the downfall have been avoided?
46:29 Ranking/evaluating the movie
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
We're a bit tardy with this upload, for which we apologize. Bob has been having some troubles with his computron.
This episode we discuss (most of) the movies from Martin McDonagh. His latest, The Banshees of Inisherin is up for a fair few Oscars this year and it seemed like a good jumping off point to talk about his work. Mark had only seen one of his films before while Bob is familiar with them all to a bit greater degree. SPOILERS FOR ALL HIS MOVIES! Which, if you're new here, applies to every movie we discuss, and if you're not you're already well aware.
No show notes this episode for reasons related to the upload delay. Perhaps next time.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Now in their 3rd calendar year, Bob and Mark return from a long holiday hiatus with a recap of 2022. Fewer spoilers than usual, but not spoiler-free! LISTEN AT YOUR OWN RISK!
0:00 Intro and Holiday Recap
3:10 Geography Lesson
6:19 2022 Notable Movies
10:57 Maverick as the 2022 movie with lasting cultural effect
12:25 Cinema philistines
13:19 Was 2022 a good year in film?
15:01 Regal (not sponsored) Unlimited
15:52 What we thought about the 2022 movies we saw
18:09 (Bob has it backwards: Cate Blanchett was in Tar; he's trying to think of Tilda Swinton)
25:24 Pitch Meeting
28:21 Wes Anderson digression
34:38 The Banshees of Inisherin
34:58 (Bob gets another name wrong; it's John Michael, not Robert)
38:20 The Menu
40:39 Bullet Train
42:46 Tar and Glass Onion
45:40 Looking ahead to 2023
47:35 Mark is depressed about the comic book movies and sequels generally
48:42 Marlowe and others to which Bob is looking forward
51:23 RLM
51:43 Best movies seen last year that weren't released last year
56:53 In conclusion...
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Because there's about to be a new edition of the Sight & Sound poll for the Greatest Films of All-Time, we decided to tell you what our top ten lists are. Probably not a lot of surprises. But there could be spoilers!
(Also, Bob's uncertain if he numbered Mark's movies correctly since he did go out of order and didn't mention the rank consistently each time.)
00:10 We've got jokes in the intro
02:04 How Bob ranks movies (spoiler: he's a big dork)
03:59 Baseball-Reference.com!
04:53 How Mark ranks movies (spoiler: it's quite different because Mark has a social life)
07:33 How events in our lives affect how we rank movies at different points in time
08:45 A note on the BFI Sight & Sound polls and how we'll approach the topic
11:27 Bob #10 spot - The Hidden Blade
15:05 How are things ranked when they're still new and fresh in your mind?
15:56 Mark #10 - Prisoners
18:44 How many of Mark's choices will star Jake Gyllenhaal
19:16 Is the suspense as done by Hitchcock?
20:45 Bob #9 - In the Mood for Love
23:53 Mark #9 - Princess Mononoke
26:21 Bob didn't like it, but hasn't seen it in a long time
27:33 Miyazaki's environmental themes
29:14 Bob's wrong about the timeline
29:31 Bob #8 - Das leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)
34:00 Mark #7 - The Pursuit of Happyness
36:39 Bob is a Grinch
37:35 Will Smith playing Will Smith?
38:47 Is Bob crazy?
39:32 Bob's #7 - The Apostle
40:39 Mark #6 - The Empire Strikes Back
43:00 Star Wars :: The Matrix
45:04 Bob's #6 - A Night at the Opera
47:29 The Stateroom scene
49:04 Mark #5 - There Will Be Blood
51:28 Bob's #5 - Singin' in the Rain
53:41 Mark's #1 - 2001: A Space Odyssey
55:42 Sight & Sound polls
58:21 Did the poll change with the changing demographics of the critics polled?
1:00:48 Mark's observations on the list
1:02:05 Older movies benefit by lack contemporary mediocrity
1:04:28 How objective can one be when rating movies?
1:08:07 Does it matter if the movie is in color or black-and-white?
1:11:55 What's next for the poll(s)?
1:14:49 Bob's #4 - Seven Samurai
1:16:10 Mark #4 - The Prestige
1:17:13 Bob's #3 - Casablanca
1:18:24 Mark's #3 - Blade Runner
1:19:15 Bob's #2 - Hamlet (1996)
1:21:01 Mark's #2 - Nightcrawler
1:22:19 Bob's #1 - Tokyo Story
1:23:13 Mark's #8 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
1:25:08 Wrapping up
1:25:45 Tom Hanks? No, we're done.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Bob finally breaks down Mark's resolve and gets him to watch a handful of Ozu films. Will their podcast partnership survive? No, seriously though, Bob is a big enthusiast of Ozu's films and Mark does watch them for the first time. Is he similarly enthralled? Repulsed? Indifferent? You'll have to listen to find out. Though all the movies in question are more than 50 years old, if you're worried about spoilers, THEY ABOUND!
00:10 Salutations and Bob still can't remember which episode number it is.
1:17 Talking about Yasujiro Ozu!
1:37 Mark had not seen Ozu before (and has found his clicky pen!)
2:38 Ozu's Tokyo Story beat out Citizen Kane for Sight and Sound's top spot in 2012 (Directors' Poll, Vertigo won the Critics Poll)
4:14 Ozu is well-known to film professionals, but not to the wider public
5:00 The Finnish director whose name Bob doesn't remember is Aki Kaurismäki
6:17 Actually 9 years
7:51 How we selected the movies to cover for this episode
8:45 Why have almost a third of Ozu's films been lost?
10:18 Silent Ozu vs. Sound Ozu
10:44 How many did Mark watch?
12:21 Similar themes throughout Ozu's work
16:52 SPOILERS BEGIN! Continue at your own risk
19:32 Bob's rationale for choosing the 5 films
21:49 Ozu using the same actors over and over
25:06 Chishu Ryu's accent
26:55 Comparing Late Spring and Early Summer
29:23 What was Ozu doing differently in Floating Weeds?
31:31 Ozu puts momentous events in between scenes
34:21 Ozu, pillow shots, and that vase
36:52 Other Ozu trademarks
43:26 Ill-behaved children
45:17 Why spend so much time on marriage?
46:49 Demographic changes in Japanese society
48:16 Favorite Ozu
49:12 The emotional effect of Tokyo Story
49:39 The emotional gut-punch of Late Spring
50:50 Self-sacrificial characters
52:45 Tokyo Story as a spur to self-reflection
59:59 The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice
1:04:01 Floating Weeds
1:06:14 First try to wrap up and final thoughts
1:08:13 Other directors who use the same actors over and over
1:08:47 Why are they titled the way they are?
1:11:16 The actual conclusion
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This week we're back in our bag and talking about whether or not the Best Picture winner from the 2015 Oscars deserved the win. Even though these are not quite 10 years old, we still spoil them with abandon! Enjoy!
00:10 Bob's worst intro ever
02:01 Why 2014?
03:50 How many of the 8 nominees did we see?
06:21 Birdman!
09:33 Navel-gazing perspective
12:30 We're actors! We're the opposite of people.
15:05 Fame at the highest levels
19:47 Chicago!
20:09 Birdman verdicts
22:13 Hail, Caesar! is a better movie about the world of acting
22:42 Pandering to the academy
23:57 What did the end of Birdman mean?
28:14 Boyhood!
31:36 It's more interesting what it would be like to make such a movie than to watch this movie
32:29 Richard Linklater
37:14 Teenagers are not interesting
40:18 Wait, we're only two films in at the 40 minute mark?
40:39 The Grand Budapest Hotel
43:30 What kind of man is M. Gustave?
47:40 Bob has only liked 2 of the 4 Wes Anderson films he's seen
48:08 The French Dispatch digression
49:27 A point of congruence with Birdman
51:45 The Imitation Game/Whiplash
53:07 JK Simmons as Fletcher
54:05 Turing's personal life not that interesting
55:53 The wartime stakes in The Imitation Game not well established
57:04 Mark Strong as Stewart Menzies
59:33 Mark's pick for the best movie of 2014: Nightcrawler
1:05:44 Interstellar
1:09:09 Our picks for Best Picture
1:10:34 The legacy of the Best Picture nominees
1:12:05 Mark's technical difficulties
1:12:44 Preview of coming attractions
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
It was topical and au courant when we recorded it, but not now! Yes, we took a look at the first two episodes of The Rings of Power. We're a bit divided on our opinions, but our conclusions aren't that far apart.
We spoil things, I guess? But there isn't much that happens and it's only the first two episodes and we're now five episodes in, so...
Show notes!
00:00 Television instead of films
02:10 Filling in for the lost Hobbit episode
04:25 The history of Middle-Earth leading up to the beginning of the show
08:37 Multiple plot threads established, Galadriel, Elrond, Harfoots, Durin, Arondir
11:00 8 episodes in the first season, 50 hours total = 7 seasons?
12:55 Moichandizing
13:36 Popular opinion? Internet opinion?
15:25 Bob finally says something about the pen
17:14 The problem of Galadriel
20:25 The show is an opportunity to get people invested in the broader lore, but it's changed
23:54 The cynicism of casting very young-looking actors (Fun fact, Markella Kavanaugh as Nori is older than Elijah Wood was in 2001 at the release of FOTR)
27:25 The third rail! Diversity!
28:51 Quick pace of the plot
29:38 Depiction of Elrond and Celebrimbor traveling: good or bad? (Digression on the name "Moria")
38:50 Elves marrying humans ends badly? Really? Beren/Luthien and Tuor/Idril didn't "end well"?
44:04 How to be rid of mice who are disturbing your sleep
47:47 Mark talks about himself in the third person and has problems with the characterization of Galadriel
49:10 Bob is a white knight for Galadriel (well, not entirely; a gray knight?)
51:53 Valinor was a place on earth
56:07 Bob forgets for a second that Galadriel was still banned because her participation in the rebellion of Feanor
56:28 The Two Trees in Valinor
58:10 Structural flaws
1:01:20 Mark is the honeybadger: he don't care (about the characters)
1:03:56 Gandalf? Is that you?
1:09:43 Bob is checking out here
1:10:02 Mark is still invested in finding out where it goes
1:11:10 Conclusion
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
We tentatively approach television for the first time in the last episode where Mark is still in Europe. It's another shorter one, but you have to expect that once in a while. They can't all be 90 minutes.
0:45 Mark again graciously records in the middle of the night from Europe
1:20 Trekkie or Trekker? Bob and Mark don't care.
3:30 Sub-genres of Trek and Mark's ranking of them
6:06 Bob's ranking of the Trek sub-genres
7:41 The primary movie at issue
8:10 Bob defends
9:20 The best defense is a good offense
10:05 A digression on the first season of ST:TNG
11:41 Bob ranks all the movies
12:50 Mark ranks his top 5
13:45 First Contact as the TNG version of The Voyage Home
16:00 Bob is flat-footed when challenged to defend his contention
17:25 Mark admits to being pretentious (okay, okay, to liking serious film)
19:19 It's really about the whales
20:05 Time for nitpicking First Contact!
21:25 80s nostalgia
24:27 The Kelvin reboot
25:55 Beyond
26:54 A short list of (rant about?) the problems with Generations (and some actual discussion)
30:27 Nemesis
31:17 Mark recaps the plot
32:33 Bob is still confused
34:10 Tom Hardy's third appearance in a feature film
35:55 Data's legacy and self-sacrifice in film
40:33 Marvel mention!
41:55 Wrath of Khan could have been better...
43:05 The Final Frontier is best forgotten
44:16 Podcasts as therapy!
45:24 Series length (and an unintentional pun!)
46:45 Banter about Mark's European tour
48:30 Conclusion
Bob's Ranking
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
- Star Trek: First Contact
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Star Trek: Beyond
- Star Trek: Generations
- Star Trek: Insurrection
- Star Trek
- Star Trek: Into Darkness
- Star Trek: Nemesis
- Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Mark's Ranking
- Star Trek: First Contact
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
- Star Trek
- Star Trek: Nemesis
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Guess who's back? No, not Shady, it's Mark. He's back in the US now, but he was still in Europe though back on the podcast for this episode. We discuss the brilliant work of Nicolas Cage in the movie Pig. It's a bit shorter than our usual episode, but maybe you'll prefer that.
Like we've done in the past with single movie episodes (well, at least once) this has about 12 minutes of relatively spoiler-free discussion before we get down to brass tacks. SPOILERS BEGIN at 12:40! You have been warned. Not sure anyone reads these notes, so show notes might go away unless anyone is finding them useful.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Chris (@4thClassOfficer on the Twitter Dot Com) returns as guest host on this, the second half of the discussion about the best films of 1954. You don't want to miss his insights (from personal naval experience) on The Caine Mutiny. We also talk about Sabrina, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Country Girl and other things as well.
SPOILERS ABOUND! But of course.
(Notes still pending since I was already late publishing.)
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This episode features a couple firsts. Not only is it part one of a two part episode (the conversation lasted about 2 hours, so we'll split it up), but this features our first guest on the podcast. Chris joins Bob (you might know him as @4thClassOfficer on the Twitter Dot Com) to discuss the best films of 1954. Perhaps a bit of disagreement? Certainly an in-depth conversation, given the duration. Bob was fighting a cold, which makes his voice deteriorate over the course of the podcast, and there are a couple places with small audio difficulties (very slight echo), but on the whole it's an episode we think you'll enjoy.
SPOILERS ABOUND! But of course.
00:10 Intro of podcast and guest host (the slight echo largely goes away after about 7 minutes)
06:11 On the Waterfront synopsis
06:45 Where does it take place?
08:21 The Score and other Brando films
08:55 Bob is not impressed; because it was over-hyped before he saw it?
09:32 Brando the method actor
11:15 Terry Malloy's lack of intelligence
11:35 Final spoiler warning for the podcast; beyond this point be spoilers for all kinds of things
12:21 I coulda been a contender
16:13 Pops and a lack of moral courage
17:28 Stock characters surround the leads
18:45 8 Oscars
20:09 Split vote for Best Supporting Actor?
21:18 Bernstein's score (where Bob fails in the moment to recognize the REM reference)
22:17 The High and the Mighty ruined by Airplane!
22:34 Boxing and boxers in On the Waterfront
23:18 Tony Galento
23:58 Abe Simon
25:05 Appropriate appearance for supporting cast
26:25 Personal allegory for Elia Kazan
27:22 The High and the Mighty (Airplane!)
27:56 Airplane! a parody (but of Zero Hour, not Terminal Countdown)
28:25 Crazylegs played football, not basketball
29:10 Parallels between the films...
29:55 AMC and mocking Mark's youth
30:50 The uselessness (from the audience perspective) of the Coast Guard
33:31 Further oddities (Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez)
34:43 Ploy synopsis
36:25 Not a best picture
36:45 What did each of us watch for this episode?
37:30 Rear Window
37:46 Hitchcock and confined spaces
38:25 Rear Window synopsis
39:33 Chris' first Hitchcock film ever
41:12 Does the cop believe the photographer or no?
43:20 Jimmy Stewart and Hitchcock
45:09 Hitchcock and his well-realized bit-part supporting actors
46:39 The 39 Steps
48:10 The finale of Rear Window
50:58 Bob compares Rear Window to On the Waterfront
54:03 Three Coins in the Fountain (which Chris hated)
54:49 Chris recommends Mark visiting Trevi Fountain if he visits Rome
55:25 The low population of Rome relative to today
56:01 Three Coins synopsis
56:33 The length of the film and what that means for the movie
58:20 Clifton Webb's character's compressed timeline
59:24 Can't be Two Coins in the Fountain
1:00:14 Poor widescreen transfer to DVD
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
It's another episode we recorded well ahead of time (you'll notice easily enough when Bob gets the episode number wrong and fails to know that we'll use this format with The Northman and The Batman), but this was one that was particularly fun. The spoilers on this are heavy throughout, and we really suggest strongly that you watch the movie first. It's a good one, and it's worth seeing unspoilt.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
00:10 Intro and getting the episode number wrong, and then getting the novelty of this format wrong because we recorded The Batman and The Northman after this, but published them sooner.
1:01 How we chose to discuss Hell or High Water
3:12 Digression on the Oscar Best Picture mix-up
4:07 Deciding to avoid spoilers for the first section of the podcast
5:04 (Mostly) spoiler-free synopsis (no more spoilers than one would get from the trailer) Jump to 7:10 to skip synopsis entirely
7:10 How the movie reveals the plot and motivations slowly and how the trailer short-circuits some of that effort
8:54 Taylor Sheridan
9:28 Ambiguity regarding the morals and motivations of many of the characters
10:44 The odd quasi-mirroring of the pairs of antagonists and the relationship between them
15:50 HERE DO THE SERIOUS SPOILERS BEGIN!
15:58 Comparison to No Country for Old Men
19:26 Ben Foster's portrayal of the older brother, Tanner
21:39 Scapegoats and sin-eaters
23:54 Viewer impressions of Tanner
25:21 Plot discussion: change of bank target at the end of the film
27:27 How Tanner's character leads to the final outcomes
28:33 Tanner and staying out of prison
29:30 Texas and frontier justice
30:25 The film testing the viewer's loyalty to the protagonists in the third act
32:11 Bob's favorite scene and character
38:09 Mark's favorite scene
40:08 If that ain't Texan, I don't know what is
40:56 Excellent writing creates sympathy for the villains
41:31 Sympathy from other characters
46:48 Frank view of human frailty and failings and expressing affection when culture forbids it
53:29 The expression of grief and loss
56:17 The final showdown
1:00:00 Reversal of roles, mirroring of the pairs
1:06:43 Spoiler for the end of Inception, comparing endings
1:08:03 One more scene...
1:09:31 Closing thoughts, hidden gems
This podcast was recorded a couple months ago in preparation for Mark being out of the country. As we mention in the beginning, we just ended up having a meandering conversation about film generally because we were off our usual schedule. If you're not a fan, well, all the jokes can't be good. You have to expect that once in a while.
00:10 Intro (in which Mark calls Bob obscene and it is revealed that the topic was chosen at the last minute)
2:56 Introspective interlude about the nature of this and other podcasts
8:50 Mark's early experiences with film
13:16 Bob's early experiences with film
16:15 Books versus Movies
18:47 Hollywood cannot live up to the power of imagination!
21:05 Bob misremembers a bit combining two of Pascal's Pensees: 11 and 183
27:15 Tokyo Story mentioned, but not spoiled
29:06 Mark hates the MCU
30:33 Is the MCU a retread of the Bond series in a significant way?
38:29 Why LOTR gets a pass from Mark when the MCU doesn't
39:00 Avengers: Endgame spoiler!
43:13 Movies that contain truth
44:04 Hail, Caesar!
47:11 The Nicholas Brothers
48:10 Sonja Henjie
51:17 Everything Everywhere All At Once
53:09 Bob on going to the theater
54:18 Mark on his favorite genre of film
55:27 Falling Down
57:21 Other films coming out soon
58:55 Bob recommends Hell or High Water to Mark
59:43 The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and then it devolves into Bob and Mark arguing about actors and films
1:03:43 We fail our first attempt to wrap things up and conclude and instead begin talking about soundtracks
1:04:44 Finally wrap this up and outro
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
We enjoyed talking about a current film so much a couple weeks ago that we did it again. Better movie though, this time around. Once again, if you're going to see this, we do spoil the whole dang thing! But if you've been listening for a while, you expect that. Also like our last episode, we do delay spoiling it in a serious way for a few minutes, so if you want to hear our synopsis and initial thoughts, you can listen and get warned before the spoilers get serious. Enjoy!
Introduction 00:00
Mark's Summer Vacation 00:55
Guest Host? 02:09
Preliminary Spoiler warning 04:00
Synopsis 06:49
Discussion start 08:32
His blunted purpose? 12:11
Sadly, the chainsaw is audible :( 13:47
Viking = Pirate 16:00
Seeing the world without the lens of Christian ethics 18:09
Final Spoiler Warning 20:40
Famous actors distracting from the story? 26:16
Laurence Olivier 29:40
Suspension of disbelief 31:42
Comparison to Hamlet 37:40
Mother issues! 41:19
Is the story a fantasy or a grounded reality? 44:52
Myth on film, not a modern story 47:28
Realism vs Factualism 49:39
Truth vs Facts 51:52
Physical realism 53:41
Olga of the Birch Forest 55:16
Anya Taylor-Joy 1:00:18
Cinematography 1:02:03
Ending? 1:06:09
European beer encore discussion 1:07:15
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Back at it again, but this time with a new and clever twist! Instead of looking at older films, we both saw The Batman and decided to talk about it. Mark was considerably more exercised than Bob, perhaps a less frequent occurrence, but not unknown to science. We do spoil the movie, but you can at least listen to the first 12 minutes or so and get a taste before stopping to see the movie yourself, should your inclinations so tend. Since it's a week for new things, we're also trying out some more detailed show notes. (Though, this was a lot more work, so don't expect it every time, you freeloaders! ~B)
The Northman - 2:13
Avengers: Endgame - 7:30
Hell or High Water - 7:22
The Rover - 7:43
Cultural relevance (Woolter in Zootopia) - 8:05
Star Wars - 8:42
Dune - 8:51
MASH - 9:14
Seinfeld - 9:15
Quibi - 9:50
Most Dangerous Game* - 10:24
Spoilers Begin at - 12:06
Batman Year 2 - 12:20
Hugh Jackman - 19:28
Christopher Nolan - 20:33
Batman Begins - 20:39
Sherlock Holmes - 28:53
CATS! - 33:42
Hercules - 35:40
Jason - 35:50
Frank Miller's Dark Knight - 37:00
I can't believe you've done this (language warning)- 38:07
The Dark Knight - 47:45
Assassin's Creed (also the subpar film) - 50:30
Dostoyevsky - If God does not exist, everything is permissible - 50:38
Gary Oldman - 54:04
Chris Pine - 1:07:40
Star Trek - 1:07:40
This episode we make an effort, half-hearted though it may be, at being au courant. In honor of the recent Academy Awards we take a look back at the Oscars from 30 years ago and re-evaluate the winners and losers. If it's not a ridiculous notion for movies this old, we spoil each and every one!
- The Silence of the Lambs
- JFK
- The Prince of Tides
- Bugsy
- Beauty and the Beast
A few other films come up in the course of conversation as well.
- Cape Fear(and the original from 1962)
- The Aviator
- Night of the Hunter
- L.A. Story
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Looking these up for the notes, turns out Bob was mixing up two Robert Mitchum movies; the original Cape Fear and Night of the Hunter.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This episode we decided to tackle some of our favorite films in languages other than English. It's not, strictly speaking, a top 5 list since we make an effort at variety as much as anything and Bob leaves Ozu off his list entirely. (He's still holding out for an entire episode dedicated to Ozu!) Because it's countdown episode, no listings for the films. In this, as ever was and ever will be, we spoil the movies to various degrees and in various ways. If we list a title you're meaning to see, be warned you may learn twists from us rather than from the film should you keep listening.
As promised, here's the link to the George Lucas Oldboy parody that comes up during the honorable mention section at the end.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
In a twist on what we've done before, this episode is a free-wheeling discussion of the career and films of Paul Giamatti. Which is not to say that we claim to be experts, but the idea of discussing one actor's career just sounded like fun. It's lighter on spoilers than our usual fare, but though the chances of Bob and Mark spoiling a movie might be low, they are never zero!
Normally this would be the place that we list off the movies under discussion... But not this episode. You'll just have to listen and find out. Sorry.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
We're staying in the current century for another episode and talking about the 2005 Best Picture. It's been nearly 20 years, so there are spoilers a-plenty! We go ahead and even spoil a film that wasn't a nominee. On the whole we consider the nominees to have been a weaker group than usual and would have preferred other movies. We criticize all the nominees (Bob goes ahead makes critical comments about the one he didn't see), but we mostly try to be fair.
- Million Dollar Baby
- Finding Neverland
- The Aviator
- Sideways
- Ray
Next week we're going to try something a little bit different and look at a single actor across his career (or that portion of it for which we've seen the movies). We've chosen to try this out first with Paul Giamatti, and we'll see how it goes.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This episode we're back in fine form (an hour and a quarter) talking about the Best Picture nominees for the 2003 Oscars. This is the year Chicago walked away with most of the accolades and left Scorcese and Gangs of New York thinking about what might have been. Be warned! We spoil many movies, perhaps not only the Oscar nominees!It will surprise no one who's listened to even a single episode that we're not big fans of the year's winner, but we diverge significantly in which film we'd pick to replace it. Along the way we discuss the merits of the various acting performances and some of the...odd...make-up choices.
- Chicago
- Gangs of New York
- The Hours
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- The Pianist
We also chat a bit about The Bourne Identity,Punch-Drunk Love, and Spirited Away. Enjoy!
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
No links to movies this week (you know how to use the internet, it's not like you really need us to hold your hand here), because we're counting down our favorite(?) rom-coms in honor of Valentine's Day. We hope you'll be able to find a good selection to watch with that special someone tomorrow even though the episode is up a day late. (Who are we kidding? You're all a bunch of animals who don't watch physical media any longer! You can stream any of these you like any time you like.) But! While we might not spoil our list, we do spoil the movies we discuss, refusing to heed your plaintive cries!
In between recording and editing/posting this episode, we did decide on the next topic and we're going after the 2003 Best Picture Winner: Chicago.
Hopefully you like our new sponsor; we moved the spot into the intro rather than leaving it for after the end this week.
Happy Valentine's Day all. May you all get more valentines than good ol' Charlie Brown.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Bob's over the Covids, Mark's moved in to his new place and we're back on that cinema grind. Moving only 2 years ahead from last week's episode, we take on 10 films from the 2011 Oscars with the expansion of the pool in the Best Picture category. (Okay, if we're being honest, it's really more like 6 or something since we didn't watch them all, and we gave short-shrift to a couple that only one of us watched. We're still liable to spoil them for you, however, so listener beware!)
Nominees:
- The King's Speech
- 127 Hours
- Black Swan
- The Fighter
- Inception
- The Social Network
- True Grit (2010)
- Toy Story 3
- The Kids Are All Right
- Winter's Bone
Other things noted in this episode:
- The Wrestler
- True Grit (1969)
- Cool Hand Luke
- King George VI
- Darren Aronofsky
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This episode we tackle the Best Picture nominees (and a few more besides) from the 2009 Oscars. (Or is it 2008?) We spoil all kinds of movies, so listen with a wary ear if you're eagerly looking forward to any of the below!
Bob is very pleased that he recognized Danny Boyle to be the director of both Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting and has added this note to brag about it.
- Slumdog Millionaire
- Milk
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Frost/Nixon
- The Reader
- The Visitor
- The Wrestler
- The Dark Knight
- Gran Torino
- In Bruges
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
If it's not one thing, it's another. Bob got his audio issues sorted, but discovered while getting this episode ready that he lost his audio for the third and final Hobbit episode. After talking it over, we've decided that we really don't want to spend the time to do it again (for a few reasons). If you've been enjoying it, we do apologize, but at some level you get what you pay for. :)
This episode consists of our top 5 Christmas movies for each of us, but as befits a holiday/celebratory recording, we didn't take the whole thing too terribly seriously. To preserve the surprise, no movie links this week. But though we're not spoiling the podcast, we will spoil the movies! Let the listener hear and understand.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our listeners!
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Back at it again with the second of three episodes on The Hobbit cinematic universe. Once again we are here to spoil this movie for you in multiple senses of the word. You will both be told what happens and why it is terrible. Prepare yourself!
Also, Bob had some real trouble (with a capital T!) with his audio and while it's...okay? You might not find it up to our usual standard. We'll remedy that next time around.
If you're new in these here parts, allow us to suggest you check out our episodes on The Lord of the Rings before diving into this episode; we think it'll flow a bit better.
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Two Towers
- The Return of the King
The Hobbit: The Desolation of SmaugNote: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
At the behest of a listener, we bring you the first of three installments on the three... Three? (Is that right? That can't be right. Huh.) On the three Hobbit films. We are unsparing both of our criticism and spoilers. If you fear either, beware.
Check out our episodes on The Lord of the Rings. Probably ought to do that first, because they do come before The Hobbit. Well, cinematically, anyway.
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Two Towers
- The Return of the King
The Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyNote: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This week, as promised, we're talking about great directors who never received an Oscar honoring them for their work in that role. Mark takes on Kubrick and Bob tackles Hitchcock and we recap a few of their movies and discuss which movies gave them their best shot and where maybe they should have actually won.
Fewer spoilers, perhaps, but beware! because we're cinematic honey-badgers! We don't care!
Stanley Kubrick
Alfred Hitchcock
Not a lot of links in the notes this week. So it goes.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
In honor of the Great Pumpkin, this episode is all about scary movies. Well, kinda. Unnerving movies maybe. Okay, Bob's a wimp when it comes to the horror genre and Mark's better, but neither is an aficionado. But we bite the bullet and talk about the movies we like the most that are closest to this genre even if not strictly within it. We avoid spoilers for the last two films, but by and large if you're frightened of learning the twist ahead of time, you might want to steer clear.
All Saints Day
Reformation Day
Mark's List:
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486822/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443706/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/
Bob's List:
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4085084/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851578/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018528/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167404/
Honorable mentions:
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2400463/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062467/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118929/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/
Other mentions:
- Millennium Actress
- The Incredibles
- Black Hawk Down
- Schindler's List
- Oldboy
- Go
"And his hair was perfect..."
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This week we end up (largely) agreeing about the Oscar choices we'd make, but we have divergent views on a number of other films (including The Little Mermaid; no, really!). We're nearly arguing as the podcast ends, but pull out the save to end amicably at the last minute. Okay, we were never in any real danger of being disharmonious, perhaps, but hopefully you'll be entertained anyway.
If you fear spoilers, beware, for we do not!
Show Notes
- 63rd Oscars
- Driving Miss Daisy
- Born on the Fourth of July
- Dead Poets Society
- Field of Dreams
- My Left Foot
We also discuss some plot points from La La Land and StarTrek IV.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
We're back and demonstrating that last week wasn't a fluke; it's another hour and twenty of cinematic podcast goodness just for you. (Yes, you.) This week mixes it up while still remaining true to our original remit; we discuss who should have won Best Actor at the 1998 Academy Awards. I (Bob) am pretty sure we agreed at the end of the podcast, but while editing, I realized Mark never actually says to whom he'd give the award.
Spoilers ahoy on the starboard bow!
Show Notes
- 71st Oscars
- As Good As It Gets(Jack Nicholson)
- Wag the Dog(Dustin Hoffman)
- Good Will Hunting(Matt Damon)
- Ulee's Gold (Peter Fonda)
- The Apostle (Robert Duvall)
Jack Nicholson doing that thing with his eyebrows.
An earlier, less famous role for Ben Affleck.
Would You Like to Know More?
The Oscar Clip from Wayne's World 2.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
This week the discussion is on the Best Picture nominees that were released in 1994. Bob and Mark disagree a bit on the margins, but end up finding more common ground than...uncommon? It rambles on a bit (almost 90 minutes!), perhaps because of the skipped episode missed while Bob was in Milwaukee at a wedding (only the one, and no funerals). Spoilers abound! (As ever.)
Show Notes
- 68th Oscars
- Forrest Gump
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Pulp Fiction
- Four Weddings and a Funeral
- Quiz Show
The DiCaprio pointing meme that Bob references.
Rita Hayworth (or for actual information)
Amanda Plummer's other notable role
What's a "palooka"?
It was Walking Tall! (But it's not quite a bat, and it was '73, not the '60s. Still.) Remade a few years back with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the Joe Don Baker role.
That scene from Tropic Thunder. (NSFW language)
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Back at it again after it turns out Bob is too lazy to record and upload a podcast solo. Also, he just doesn't like the idea of talking to himself for an hour. After seeing what can happen to folks who have odd quirks like that in one of the films discussed in the episode, can you really blame him?
This week we consider the 49th Academy Awards Best Picture nominees. The winner from among the films of 1975 was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. But should it have won?
No. It should not have. Join us as we talk about why and what should have won instead.
Show Notes
- 49th Academy Awards
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Barry Lyndon
- Dog Day Afternoon
- Jaws
- Nashville
It Happened One Night made it's sweep of the big categories 41 years earlier in 1935, not '36 or '37. (Bob is pretty pleased he was only off by a year or so, however.)
Wolf Kahler and Pat Roach were the pair from Barry Lyndon who also appeared in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Our summer holiday continues with a look at our favorite films adapted from books. No overlap at all with this list with one of us going back nearly 90 years for some picks and the other sticking with more recent works. (Guess who did which!)
As before, links to IMDb pages without titles to avoid spoilers, and though we make a greater effort to not spoil these films, listen at your own risk. We won't hesitate to spoil the film to make our point.
Mark will be out of the country next time we're scheduled to record, so we might miss an episode or perhaps Bob will not be lazy and at least find something to jabber about for a few minutes. You'll have to wait and see; we're not even sure yet!
Bob's list:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114388/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028010/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042876/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033870/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041154/
Mark's list:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304141/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477348/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/
The "alternate trailer" for Mark's' number 1 film.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
We take a different tack this week and discuss out favorite heist films. (EDIT: It's the 9th episode, not the 8th as I say in the intro.) What would we define as a "heist film"? Never fear, we discuss that too; along with some desultory conversation about the weather. We hope you enjoy this, our shortest podcast to date. (Which is still nearly an hour long.)
To preserve the mystery of our favorite heist films, plain text links to their IMDb pages.
Bob's list:
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049406/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060522/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240772/
Mark's list:
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114814/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122690/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240772/
Honorable (?) Mentions:
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5439796/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454848/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203119/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070735/
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Wrapping up the look back at Peter Jackson's trilogy of films, this week we consider The Return of the King. (No avoiding spoilers, obviously.) Mark continues to consider it a success, Bob remains persuaded it was a failure. Surprise, surprise.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Show notes
- 76th Academy Awards
- ROTK
This episode is, like all of them, spoiler heavy. We continue our journey through Jackson's vision of Tolkien's masterpiece with the middle section of The Lord of the Rings. Further ranting from Bob tempered by Mark's voice of moderation.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Show notes
- 75th Academy Awards
- TTT
- Chicago
- The Hours
- Gangs of New York
- The Pianist
A bit of a departure from our usual format. We spend the whole episode on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (henceforth: FOTR). Join us as we journey into the heart of darkness. (Guess who got to write the show notes.)
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Show notes
- 74th Academy Awards
- FOTR
- Moulin Rouge!
- In the Bedroom
- Gosford Park
- A Beautiful Mind
Shakespeare in Love was the controversial Best Picture winner for 1998. Harvey Weinstein is largely credited (blamed?) for instituting the now common practice of lobbying hard for Oscars with this particular film. Years later, this may well be the decision that is most regretted by the current academy. Contending with it that year were another costume drama, Elizabeth, and three films about World War II: Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, and Life is Beautiful.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Show notes
- 71st Academy Awards
- Shakespeare in Love
- Life is Beautiful
- Saving Private Ryan
- The Thin Red Line
- Derek Jacobi
- Shakespeare and genius
Chariots of Fire won Best Picture in 1981, the year Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford started the Indiana Jones franchise and brought back the adventure serial with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Oh, and Warren Beatty wrote, directed, and starred in a real dog of a film called Reds.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Show notes
- 54th Academy Awards
- Chariots of Fire
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- On Golden Pond
- Atlantic City
- Reds
- I don't think there's a person in here that would not love to watch Henry Fonda pick blueberries
In 1991 Dances with Wolves became the first Western to win Best Picture since Cimarron in 1931. A lot of folks think that this meant Scorsese's Goodfellas got robbed. We watch both films and give you our opinion on the question
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Show notes
- 63rd Oscars
- Dances with Wolves
- Goodfellas
- The Hunt for Red October
- Miller's Crossing
In 1979 Kramer vs. Kramer won Best Picture and Best Director honors at the Academy Awards over Apocalypse Now. Despite this, 40+ years later, it is Apocalypse Now which is the more widely acclaimed film. We watched both and discuss why that might be.
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Music:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
The disaster of filming Apocalypse Now:
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/strained-making-apocalypse-now-1758689.html
- 52rd Oscars
- Kramer vs. Kramer
- Apocalypse Now
- Norma Rae
- All That Jazz
How did Citizen Kane lose to How Green Was My Valley? How did perhaps the best picture of all time fail to collect the Best Picture award?
Note: Oscar® and Academy Awards® are the trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This podcast is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Show Notes:
Intro and Outro music excerpted without alteration other than length and volume from AcidJazz by Kevin McLeod under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
- 14th Oscars
- The Maltese Falcon (1941)
- The Maltese Falcon (1931)
- Shia LeBeouf Live - Rob Cantor
- Orson Welles for Paul Masson
- Paul Masson Outtakes
- Hearst Castle